Chapter 154: Tianyu Sword Classic Volume Two

When Ning Changjiu thrust out his final sword, all the lingering shadows in the sky returned to his body, and the overwhelming sword energy also dissipated at that moment.

They felt as if they were in the middle of a dark night. In an already extremely dim world, a celestial dog suddenly swallowed the moon, and all light vanished, leaving everything visible engulfed in darkness.

The black-clad youth's blade was like dry sand, losing its cohesion and beginning to dissipate and scatter.

He looked at Ning Changjiu's strange stance and wanted to laugh. But seeing the sword piercing his throat, he couldn't laugh at all; only a gurgling sound escaped his throat.

The black-clad youth was full of questions and wanted to ask something, but Ning Changjiu gave him no chance. The sword energy surged through him like lava, and countless red lines lit up in his body, resembling dense, rising blood vessels, ready to burst through his skin at any moment.

"Stop!" Shi Wu roared, and his Dao sword broke free from its sheath, striking towards the mountain protection array.

The Golden Crow, pecking at the Jiuying manifestation, chirped. Beneath its feet, the manifestation began to dissipate.

The black-clad youth even possessed the ability to shatter space at the Purple Court realm. He had thought he could dodge any sword here, even from Jing Yangxia, the Peak Master of Shou Xiao.

Yet, he was struck by this very sword.

He couldn't understand it.

He couldn't comprehend this sword, nor could he figure out if that Golden Crow was the same one from three thousand years ago.

The one from back then was a divine bird truly comparable to the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, a deity overseeing the Ten-Eyed Kingdom.

How could it be as small as a sparrow now?

The sword fire within him exploded, and his body burst apart inch by inch. He resembled a torn black curtain, and after the explosion, black fragments fluttered down like paper money.

The explosive airflow, mixed with flames, made Ning Changjiu's white robe ripple and his ink-black hair fly back.

Ning Changjiu turned his head and looked at Lu Jiajia.

He frowned slightly. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but as he looked from afar, he seemed to see a hint of tears glistening in her eyes.

The moment the black-clad youth exploded, Shi Wu's expression turned extremely grim.

Behind him, Shi Si Yi and another Dao Lord simultaneously looked up, their Dao swords appearing, and towering Dharmakayas, dozens of zhang tall, rose behind them.

"Are you going back on your word?" Jing Yangxia tapped the wooden sheath at his waist, and the Bixiao Sword flew out, suspending itself in the very center of the mountain protection array.

Ning Changjiu covered his chest and coughed softly a few times, his body visibly losing much strength, and his shoulders slumped considerably.

Shi Wu stared at Ning Changjiu, recalling some past events, and asked, "What is that sword technique called?"

Ning Changjiu did not reply.

Shi Wu had clearly heard Jing Yangxia's earlier exclamation. Confirming the origin of the sword technique, he continued, "The latter half of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra... something your Heavenly Sect lost decades ago. Why would a junior disciple like you learn it?"

The latter half of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra?

Jing Yangxia's earlier exclamation had already puzzled many, but Shi Wu's revelation now left them utterly shocked.

The loss of the latter half of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra was common knowledge within the peak.

It was an old story from many years ago. Rumor had it that the culprit was Senior Uncle Yan Zhou, who had imprisoned himself in the library. Han Chi Zhenren, the current Sect Master, was originally a true prodigy; if the latter half of the sword sutra hadn't been lost, he wouldn't have been stuck at the peak of the Purple Court realm for sixty years, unable to break through.

But now, a young disciple was actually using techniques from the latter half of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra?

Could there have been a hidden reason for the sword sutra's loss back then?

Not to mention the disciples, even the Four Peak Masters were baffled. Lu Jiajia, however, knew that Ning Changjiu had secretly learned this sword technique from Yan Zhou's dreams. Could it be that Yan Zhou imprisoned himself in the library not because he couldn't find the sutra, but because he had already found it and had been secretly practicing it diligently?

Thinking of this, a chill ran through Lu Jiajia as she recalled the old man's benevolent face.

If her thoughts were true, what exactly was Yan Zhou's scheme?

Ning Changjiu's thoughts differed from Lu Jiajia's. He believed that if Yan Zhou had truly stolen the latter half of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra, it would be extremely difficult for the Sect Master not to discover it. Even if the Sect Master didn't find out, Yan Zhou would surely keep the secret well hidden, not sleeping peacefully knowing Ning Changjiu traveled daily between the library and Hidden Peak using the Small Flight Array.

However, if that were the case, Yan Zhou's mastery of the latter half of the sword sutra's techniques remained unexplained.

Ning Changjiu did not directly answer Shi Wu's question. Instead, he said, "My peak's private matters are none of your concern. If you still have any credibility as a sect master, retreat beyond the Peach Curtain."

Jing Yangxia was deeply perplexed by this matter, but with a formidable enemy at hand, he suppressed his shock and doubts. "If you continue to be so aggressive," he stated, "the Mountain Protection Great Sword, unseen for a hundred years, will be unleashed today."

Shi Wu replied, "A Mountain Protection Great Sword without the Sect Master's sword? I'd like to see how powerful it truly is."

Jing Yangxia angrily retorted, "Are you truly going back on your word?"

Shi Wu proudly declared, "Who said my disciple lost?"

Jing Yangxia said, "With everyone watching, are you still going to twist the truth?"

Shi Wu let out a cold laugh.

Suddenly, an eerie wind swept across the sword arena once more.

Ning Changjiu sighed, but the Golden Crow on his shoulder had a fervent gaze.

In the sword arena, slender black light rose. A figure, outlined and pieced together from many black lines, materialized. It was unmistakably the black-clad youth again, but this time, his demeanor and appearance were much more mature.

"Idiot," the black-clad youth muttered, staring at the remnants of his clothes on the ground.

According to legend, Jiuying had nine lives; as long as one head remained, the others could regenerate. Therefore, it could only be truly killed by being beheaded nine times in one continuous effort.

Half of this legend was true: Jiuying indeed had nine lives, but its central head, once severed, could not be restored.

While it could still survive with its other eight heads, without its true brain, Jiuying's power would be severely diminished, and the remaining eight heads would turn on each other.

Three thousand years ago, Jiuying had all nine of its heads severed in one swift strike, and the most crucial central head remains missing to this day.

When the Purple Heaven Dao Sect reconstructed Jiuying, fearing it would self-destruct, they imbued the consciousness of all eight heads into the body of the youth they had created.

Once Jiuying was completely reassembled, the youth would then merge with it.

Ning Changjiu had guessed all this. He could even imagine that the Purple Heaven Dao Sect had already moved Jiuying's remaining bones outside Lotus Field Town, connecting the giant python with Jiuying.

Earlier, in Lotus Field Town, he had considered having Lu Jiajia strike the giant python with her sword, but he abandoned that idea at the time.

Firstly, the giant python was also a creature of the Purple Court realm, or close to it, making it extremely difficult to kill. Secondly, everything in Lotus Field Town might have been an illusion; Zhang Qiyu must have devised countless ways to protect that black giant python.

To truly kill it, one had to do so outside Lotus Field Town, but by then, Jiuying would have been complete. Who could then consecutively sever all nine of its heads?

What lay before them now was almost an unsolvable stalemate.

Yet, he always felt he had overlooked something.

He turned around and suddenly saw Ning Xiaoling staring fixedly at him, her eyes wide, her lips slightly parted, her face pale with fright. She was clenching her fists at him, as if there was something urgent she needed to tell him.

"Do you want to die again?" Ning Changjiu asked, staring at the black-clad youth.

The black-clad youth reformed his black blade. He didn't look at Ning Changjiu, but instead fixed his gaze on the Golden Crow on Ning Changjiu's shoulder.

"Who exactly are you?" the black-clad youth asked again.

Ning Changjiu ignored him. After the previous sword strike, his understanding of the sword path had deepened further. At this moment, he was confident that even if Jiuying used up its current seven lives, it would not be able to defeat him.

They fell into a standoff again, neither making the first move.

"What are you doing?!"

Suddenly, an enraged roar echoed across the sword arena.

Jing Yangxia glanced at the mountain protection array. Faint cracks had appeared on the array, so fine that they were imperceptible without careful observation.

The laws of Jiuying's domain could not only treat the grand array as nothing but also had the power to directly destroy it. This was why Shi Wu was truly confident and fearless.

Only now did they realize that the mountain protection array had been secretly eroded by Jiuying's laws all along.

"Mountain Protection Great Sword!" Jing Yangxia bellowed, no longer hesitating.

Four beams of sword light, each with a distinct aura, lit up almost simultaneously.

Shi Wu and the two Dao Lords also unleashed their Dao swords at this moment, striking towards the mountain protection array.

They had never intended to keep their promise.

This sword duel was merely a childish game; how could it truly influence the course of the larger situation?

The sword duel was forcibly halted, revealing their true intentions. The Purple Heaven Dao Sect overturned the chessboard, and both sides simultaneously unsheathed their sharpest swords.

In the previously calm world, the sword light that surged forth in an instant was like a cultivation-serpent poised to devour heaven and earth, opening its gaping maw towards the four peaks.

Above the four peaks, the Mountain Protection Great Sword materialized.

It was an immensely colossal sword, suspended high above the four peaks.

The body of the sword appeared to be formed by dozens of ancient dragons intertwined, only roughly shaped like a sword with no distinct edge. Yet, the moment it appeared, an ancient and vast killing intent, like a mighty wind traveling thousands of miles, swept over them.

Shi Wu stared at the sword, his expression extremely solemn.

It was this kind of sword that had suppressed the Purple Heaven Dao Sect for centuries.

Now, as the current Sect Master, if he could just break this sword, his sect would become truly powerful, having no rivals in the Daoist world, and even aspiring to be unrivaled in Southern Zhou.

His heart surged with tension and fervor.

As the sword materialized, its tip pointed directly at the black-clad youth.

A slight curve appeared at the corner of the black-clad youth's mouth. His body arched backward, and the void cracked open, swallowing him whole. Then, behind Shi Wu, a black door split open, and the youth stepped out, bowing with a smile. "Master, save me."

Beside Shi Si Yi, another Dao Lord raised her head.

That Dao Lord also wore a loose dark purple robe, her face hidden beneath a hood. Only when she finally looked up did everyone realize she was a woman.

Shi Wu also looked at her.

"Thirteen Yuchen, are you ready?"

Her name was Thirteen Yuchen, the only woman among the four Dao Lords and the most inconspicuous of them. Very few stories were told about her.

Thirteen Yuchen still hadn't removed her hood; her pointed chin moved, as if nodding.

Then, she raised her hand, four fingers hanging down, thumb pointing up. With a sudden thrust of her entire palm forward along her arm, it unfurled like an umbrella.

"The Heavenly Dao is one, all things return to the origin."

The woman's voice, devoid of emotion, rang out: "Vaporize."

As her words fell, several purple-robed Daoists immediately formed hand seals behind her, surrounding Thirteen Yuchen at the very center. Countless purple lines, like straight bolts of electricity, intertwined among them.

The black-clad youth chuckled, "Sister Yuchen is so formidable; no one in Southern Zhou can rival your Dao-breaking technique, I suppose?"

Thirteen Yuchen replied emotionlessly, "Do your part."

The black-clad youth smiled faintly.

Shi Wu and Shi Si Yi exchanged glances.

They were the two strongest members of the Purple Heaven Dao Sect. Although even together they couldn't defeat Han Chi Zhenren before, now that the Heavenly Sect was without a leader, what did they have to fear?

Two Dao swords converged in the air, emitting a light no less powerful than that of the Heavenly Sect's Mountain Protection Great Sword.

The two sects' colossal swords faced each other, locking on, like two enormous clouds slowly approaching and colliding.

The black-clad youth didn't look at the sword but turned his gaze to the sword arena.

The smile on his face suddenly vanished, and he exclaimed, "Where is he?"

Ning Changjiu was nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, the Heavenly Sect's four immortal swords had merged into the Mountain Protection Great Sword, while the two strongest from the Purple Heaven Dao Sect also met them with their Dao swords. Furthermore, Dao Lord Thirteen Yuchen, along with the black-clad youth, was actively undermining the mountain protection array. In this critical moment for the survival of the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect, everyone was extremely tense and paid little attention to Ning Changjiu.

"Where are you going?" Lu Jiajia noticed him, but she was currently controlling the Immortal Sword Minglan and couldn't disengage.

Ning Changjiu said, "I'm going to see Yan Zhou."

Lu Jiajia said nervously, "Why are you seeing him? He's secretly hoarding the sword sutra with ill intentions. If he knew you also practiced that sword, he would silence you."

Ning Changjiu glanced at the tottering mountain protection array and simply said, "Trust me."

Ning Xiaoling also ran over, eagerly saying, "Senior Brother! I... I remembered something."

Ning Changjiu walked towards the Inner Peak, asking, "What is it?"

Ning Xiaoling said, "Earlier... during the early spring sword trials, some images suddenly appeared in my mind. Afterward, you asked if I remembered anything, and I did that night, but you weren't there when I looked for you, so I just forgot..."

Ning Changjiu's brows furrowed deeply.

In this world, a person's memories are hard to truly erase. Once the broad outline is drawn, the dust-covered details will slowly peel away, thread by thread.

Ning Xiaoling's simple sentence gave him a headache. Then, he saw the outline shrouded in gray mist.

"What did you remember?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Ning Xiaoling said, "A snake! There were bones of a large snake, coiled around dragon-entwining pillars, and many lamps, objects all over the floor... and it seemed, it seemed there was also a person!"

Ning Changjiu paused, closing his eyes. Countless images flooded his mind at once, like hazy nightmares, revealing their true forms little by little through layers of grey-black mist and flickering lamplight.

The bottom of Heavenly Grotto Peak... lamp pillars, sacred artifacts corrupted by evil, a great skeletal serpent, and an old stone statue.

Following a single thread, these hidden memories were unearthed.

Ning Changjiu finally understood why he had been so certain that the great snake in Lotus Field Town was one of Jiuying's heads: his subconscious was telling him that the real Ba She was elsewhere—its bones were at the bottom of Heavenly Grotto Peak.

But who was that old man? Why did he alter his memories?

The tomb keeper...

And what was the use of Ba She's bones?

Ning Changjiu couldn't figure it out for now; more urgent matters awaited him.

"Junior Sister, thank you," Ning Changjiu said. "If I don't return, remember to send the Illusory Snow Lotus to the Imperial City for Zhao Xiang'er."

"Ah... Senior Brother, what are you going to do?" Ning Xiaoling tugged at his sleeve, preventing him from leaving.

Ning Changjiu ruffled her hair.

Many sparkling lights shimmered around him. He gently pried Ning Xiaoling's fingers away one by one, then reverse-drew the Small Flight Array, locating the book's position in the library. His body sank, the two spaces overlapped, and Ning Changjiu's figure vanished from the peak, reappearing in the library.

Ning Xiaoling gazed at the empty space before her, recalling her Senior Brother's words. Wiping her eyes, she knew he had gone to the library and wanted to follow him. But she bit her arm, using the pain to calm herself. She told herself that she couldn't cause Senior Brother any more trouble now; the bad people were here, and she had to work with her Master to drive them away.

"What are you doing here?" Yan Zhou lifted his eyelids and glanced at him.

Ning Changjiu said, "The Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect is facing imminent danger. Are you just going to stand by, Senior?"

Yan Zhou's voice was ancient as he replied, "I am merely an old man watching over the library. If they dare step in here, I will kill them immediately."

Ning Changjiu said, "Senior, you've imprisoned yourself in the library for many years; it's time for it to end."

Yan Zhou said, "I once swore a blood oath that I would never leave the library until I found the sword sutra."

Ning Changjiu closed his eyes, silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Senior, you should have died a long time ago."

"What did you say?" Yan Zhou frowned.

Ning Changjiu said, "The first day I came to the library, I felt your condition was very wrong, as if you were about to die at any moment."

Yan Zhou chuckled, "That's just how old men are. I never know if I'll wake up tomorrow after I fall asleep... Yes, I am going to die."

Ning Changjiu shook his head. "But you've been alive all this time, for so many years."

Yan Zhou said, "It's not uncommon for those in the Longevity realm to live for two hundred years, or for those in the Purple Court realm to cling to life for several centuries. When the sword sutra was stolen back then, I was injured by it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so old now..."

Ning Changjiu sighed. "The Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra is a fatal technique. It doesn't cause injuries; it only causes death."

Yan Zhou clasped his hands within his sleeves, his aura gradually calming. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ning Changjiu stared into his eyes and asked, "Is the one living now truly Senior Uncle Yan Zhou?"

"You... what are you saying?"

The old man's pupils suddenly dilated and lost focus.

"All things possess spirits, and a divine artifact like a sword sutra is no exception," Ning Changjiu speculated about what happened back then. "Many years ago, the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra developed a spirit. Like all life in the world, the spirit yearned for freedom, and its first step to achieving it was to break free from its current prison. So, it bewitched the closest guardian, which was you, Senior Uncle."

"You were deceived by the sword sutra's spirit and released it... but the Sect Master arrived quickly. The spirit didn't want to be sealed again, but it also realized it couldn't become a truly free human; its existence had to rely on a physical object." Ning Changjiu spoke quickly, yet clearly.

He stared into Yan Zhou's eyes and continued, "So it thought of a method: parasitism. It embedded the Heavenly Oracle Sword Sutra into your body, making you a vessel for its parasitic existence. That's why you were injured back then... In reality, the spirit didn't want to harm you to escape, but rather to reshape your body into a form it could inhabit."

"Afterward, the Sect Master arrived, saw your severe injuries, and learned of the sword sutra's escape from your own words," Ning Changjiu said. "In truth, the sword sutra had possessed you, and the injuries it inflicted were enough to kill you... But if you died, it would also be exposed, so all these years, it has been sustaining your life."

As Yan Zhou listened to his words, his scattered pupils gradually reformed. "How... how could that be?"

Ning Changjiu said, "The sword sutra has always been hidden inside your body, which is why you could sense its presence but couldn't find it in the library. It has always been hidden behind your consciousness. Senior Uncle, in a sense, you are the sword sutra..."

Yan Zhou asked, "Then... what exactly does it want?"

Ning Changjiu provided the answer: "To find the next body it can parasitize."

Yan Zhou's face turned ashen, as if he had aged several more years.

Ning Changjiu explained, "It forcefully carved out your body as a vessel back then, almost killing you directly. If even you were like that, others naturally couldn't withstand it... So it kept searching for someone, and eventually, it chose me. In its eyes, I was the only one with hope of mastering the sword sutra."

Ning Changjiu recalled Yan Zhou's dream-practicing sword scenes and said, "It deliberately disguised these sword techniques as sleepwalking, hoping I would learn them. Once I mastered the sword sutra, it could parasitize me, leave the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect, and then gradually devour my consciousness to become a true 'person.'"

"Nan Cheng also told me he saw me practicing swordplay in my dreams," Yan Zhou suddenly said.

Ning Changjiu was momentarily stunned, realizing why Yan Zhou had chosen Nan Cheng back then and sent him to Hidden Peak for secluded cultivation, and why Nan Cheng had forcefully cultivated his sword physique... That must have been the sword sutra's enticement. If Nan Cheng had successfully cultivated a sword physique, he might have become qualified to learn the sword sutra, becoming a vessel for it to escape to the outside world.

It wanted to see a miracle in Nan Cheng, but Nan Cheng's forced cultivation of his sword physique nearly killed him.

"After waiting so many years, it finally found me," Ning Changjiu's voice was tinged with sorrow. "Are you happy?"

Yan Zhou also understood many things. He slowly rose, looking at his own body, his hand pressed against his chest as if he wanted to scoop into his flesh like a shovel and dig out the soul deeply hidden within him.

"So... that's how it is," Yan Zhou slowly smiled. "Losing the sword sutra was something I've felt guilty about towards Han Chi my whole life... It turns out, I was simply too deeply involved to see the truth."

Ning Changjiu watched him quietly, waiting for an answer.

"You are very clever," Yan Zhou finally looked up after a long silence. At this moment, his voice had changed, becoming childlike and even gender-neutral. "It seems I wasn't mistaken about you."

Ning Changjiu looked at him, knowing that the artifact spirit had reversed its consciousness and taken over Yan Zhou.

'Yan Zhou' said, "You want this old man to use his sword for you now, but I can kill him at any time."

Ning Changjiu said, "State your terms."

'Yan Zhou' said, "I don't want to go back into that cage. I can help you with your sword today, but you must let me enter your body and then take me away. Can you do that?"

Ning Changjiu said, "I agree."

'Yan Zhou' said coldly, "Don't even think about tricking me. Finish learning the remaining six forms in front of me, and then you won't be able to escape, even if you try."

Ning Changjiu smiled. If he hadn't been delayed so much by refining Lu Jiajia's physique, he might have finished learning the sword sutra long ago. If that had happened, Yan Zhou would have died unknowingly, and a parasite would have unknowingly taken root in his own body.

Even he felt a slight sense of lingering fear.

Ning Changjiu memorized the six forms, then said, "I'd like to ask for Senior Uncle Yan Zhou's opinion."

He replied, "What good is this old man's opinion? If it weren't for me, he'd be long dead."

Ning Changjiu stared at him stubbornly.

The artifact spirit sighed, its consciousness sinking. Yan Zhou slowly awoke, looking so frail that he seemed unable to even lift a cane. He knew what the artifact spirit had said to Ning Changjiu, and the old man smiled with relief: "Lost in this predicament for decades, a puppet without knowing it, how truly laughable... Now that I have heard the truth, what harm is there in death?"

Ning Changjiu bowed deeply, saying, "Senior Uncle's righteousness is profound."

The old man burst into roaring laughter, tears streaming down his face.

Within Heavenly Grotto Peak, sword energy suddenly surged three hundred zhang high.